MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

I mean Little Rock’s - usually granite - so they don’t get their intestines blocked.
It sits in the gizzard and acts instead of teeth to grind up the food.
If raised outdoors they usually find it for themselves.
I think for babies sharp builders sand may be enough. Or a bit of gravel.
Shell grit is for calcium and only needed by laying hens.

From Reddit in Australia.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BackYardChickens/comments/z5xzyw/confused_about_grit

That Reddit post is exactly what I was saying about the type of grit you're referring to (granite) not being available on the market in Australia. Only shell grit is available.

 

[LozzyR]

How long does it take Lozzy? I'm a 15 minute drive and often think I should be riding, but in the car I'm doing 90ks on the expressway most of the way and the best bike route goes through the industrial area, which is a extremely grim. I still can't get over they built that nice new expressway and didn't put in a bike path all the way through

So what takes me 10 minutes by car takes me 25 minutes by bike, and that’s including going around the back of a suburb as there’s only a footpath and not a bike path alongside the road. I have a nice spot down the side of our building where it’s undercover and you can’t see it from the car park.

Of course road developers didn’t consider bike infrastructure when building an expressway. Sydney’s M7 has one apparently, though.

Is your industrial area grim because it has no foliage, or is it unsafe? If it’s not unsafe, it might be worth it travelling through it, especially if you have somewhere secure to lock up your bike. We have a shower at work so I pack a change of clothes, some soap and a bamboo towel in saddle-bags, along with a packed lunch, bike locks and a puncture-repair kit. I allow myself enough time (just!) to get there, have a shower, get changed and be ready for 9am.

Whilst the e-bike was good, I cannot stress enough how much more comfortable the recumbent is, especially for us (ahem!) older ladies. Yes, changing the back tyre is a bit more fiddly, but I have instructions on my phone, as I seem to get a puncture about only once a year. It seems to have helped with my knee issues; the fluid I had around my knees is gone, as well as pain. I still have osteoarthritis and can’t sit back on my heels anymore, but I don’t need that depth of bend for riding (or rowing for that matter).

My son also has a recumbent trike and there are a few cyclists dotted about the place, including a couple of hand cyclists. Hubby and I had morning tea at our local surf club for our wedding anniversary, and we saw three recumbent trikes that we hadn’t seen before. So they’re out there.

 

[RoyalChick]

Ah! I think the timeline is a little out of kilter, which is fair enough given the difference in time zones and my abbreviated posts - this time of year I'm at the desk more than ever, I just worked through the weekend and will likely work through next weekend too.

Woozy became woozy a day or two after leaving the clean-ish environment of the closed little coop to go out and about in Kindergarten Corner. From that I thought maybe (no certainty) the dirty environment had made the chick unwell.

Yes I realized that timing. And you may well be right.
But going outside is often also the first time they eat something other than the commercial chick crumbles and need grit for the first time.
My understanding is that the commercial crumbles don't require any grinding up so they are fine without grit if that is all they eat.
But in the real word they might eat a passing spider or whatever, and that does need grinding up to digest.
I am in no way an expert on this - just sharing what I learned when I read up on it previously.

 

[MaryJanet]

Is your industrial area grim because it has no foliage, or is it unsafe?

Well, it's both really. Lots of semis and lorries sharing the road with bikes, lots of potential for punctures. While the expressway has cars and lorries zipping by at 90. Or the bikeway which goes a few ks out of the way. The temptation is to use an ebike on the bikeway.

 

[MaryJanet]

Yes I realized that timing. And you may well be right.
But going outside is often also the first time they eat something other than the commercial chick crumbles and need grit for the first time.
My understanding is that the commercial crumbles don't require any grinding up so they are fine without grit if that is all they eat.
But in the real word they might eat a passing spider or whatever, and that does need grinding up to digest.
I am in no way an expert on this - just sharing what I learned when I read up on it previously.

Even in the light of full veterinary scientific knowledge, the full bachelor, masters, doctorate, specialism learning path, uncertainty remains. And there's a point where a delightful and productive hobby (with its occasional sadnesses and disappointments) becomes knowledge work. I get plenty of that already.

 

[MaryJanet]

Whilst the e-bike was good, I cannot stress enough how much more comfortable the recumbent is, especially for us (ahem!) older ladies.

Hmm. I suppose there's such a thing as an erecumbent trike

 

[BDutch]

It sits out in the salt air and I don’t wash it. Our one car space is full of bikes!

Most people in the Netherlands do the same.

That Reddit post is exactly what I was saying about the type of grit you're referring to (granite) not being available on the market in Australia. Only shell grit is available.

Course sand is good too.
My broodies always take the chicks out to eat grasses and weeds. So Im very keen they have access to small stomach stones too. I usually buy small stones for pigeons or larger birds. The last time I thought I made a mistake, bc the stones I bought resembled beach sand/construction sand. But it seems that this is good for chicks as well.

 

[MaryJanet]

Most people in the Netherlands do the same.

Course sand is good too.
My broodies always take the chicks out to eat grasses and weeds. So Im very keen they have access to small stomach stones too. I usually buy small stones for pigeons or larger birds. The last time I thought I made a mistake, bc the stones I bought resembled beach sand/construction sand. But it seems that this is good for chicks as well.

Well they have sand galore, the whole suburb is on sand. All they need to do is bend down and pick it up.

 

[LozzyR]

Hmm. I suppose there's such a thing as an erecumbent trike

My hubby suggested putting a battery on it but I don’t want to because I’ll use it, and I’d rather expend the energy. I rode around the lake once with someone who has cerebral palsy, and his recumbent trike has electric assist.

 

[RoyalChick]

My hubby suggested putting a battery on it but I don’t want to because I’ll use it, and I’d rather expend the energy. I rode around the lake once with someone who has cerebral palsy, and his recumbent trike has electric assist.

I have only just realized that your recumbent bike is a trike. That makes me feel a bit better about it. I was trying to figure how on earth you stayed upright!